User blog:Battlefan237/Halloween Part II - Human Horror:Alex Delarge vs. Jack Torrance
In this year's halloween section for human horror, two iconic representations of human nature's dark side are selected from Stanley Kubrick's masterpieces and pitted against each other. Alex DeLarge, the eccentric and violent teenage street brawler of Dystopian London whose fate at the hands of his supposed saviors left us wondering whether a man should have the freedom to be evil ; Jack Torrance, failed author whose desire to achieve success allowed demonic forces of a cursed hotel to transform him into an axe-wielding killing machine. Who is the deadliest ? ''' Alex DeLarge '''Alex DeLarge '''is the leader of a gang of "Droogs" partake in acts of "ultraviolence" on a nightly basis; robbing, assaulting and even raping innocent members of the public for their own sick amusement. While robbing the house of a wealthy woman he is knocked out by one of his fellow gang members and left to be found by the police and is convicted of murder, as he unknowingly beat the woman to death when assaulting her. After several years in jail he is recommended for a revolutionary new treatment designed to eliminate criminal impulses by conditioning the participant to feel nauseating sickness at the mere thought of violence. The treatment appears to be a success and Alex has his prison time commuted to time served and is released but he soon finds himself unable to adapt to society and is brutalised by his former victims and gang members, his treatment preventing him from defending himself. After he attempts suicide after being drugged and subjected to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony by a former victim (the piece played to Alex during his treatment) he is given a high paying job by the government as compensation for the failure of his treatment. Little do they realise that the treatment has worn off and he is now back to his old sociopathic self, ready to commit even more crimes.And this is where the film ends. In the novel,however,he eventually assembles a new gang. But after meeting Pete, a former gang member of his, Alex learned that he had reformed. Because of this encounter, he began to take less pleasure in ultraviolence and began to considering retiring from his life of crime to start a family. Weapon * '''Signature-'Sword-Cane:' At first glance this is a normal cane and on most occasions Alex indeed uses this as a normal bludgeoning weapon. However, the handle can be detached, revealing an approximately ten to fifteen-inch long blade attached to it. Alex keeping the knife component a secret, only to bring it out at a key moment as a nasty surprise for his opponent. * Backup - Small razor blade & Usage of Environment:'''Alex has an additional razor blade in his pocket. It is quite small in size and requires close distance to take effect. Apart from his standard weapons, Alex is a master of using the environment, constanly picking up random items from the environment to attack his opponents. Note that according to the movie there aren't many things for him to pick up in the corridor & garden maze, but there are certainly a lot of things for him to use in main hall & banquet room, such as chairs & glass bottles. * '''Ignorable - Crotch Armor:'''Alex wears an underwear-shaped armor on his crotch to protect his....groin, essentially. Jack Torrance A writer that was hired as the winter caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, '''Jack Torrance took the job for the pay and the chance of solitude for a chance to better his writing. Despite being warned about the former owner killing himself and his family after succumbing to cabin fever, Torrance decides to move his family out with him. His son Danny, who'd he'd harmed while binge drinking, starts to have violent hallucinations, and his wife Wendy questions a doctor about Danny's psychological health. A staff member, Hallorann, consoles Danny and explains his psychic abilities. A month into the job, Torrance's writing has made no progress. Wendy becomes increasingly worried about the phone lines going out due to heavy snow, and Jack starts to have violent outbursts. Jack falls asleep while writing, but suddenly awakens and tells a worried Wendy he dreamed about killing her and Danny. Meanwhile, Danny stumbles in with a bruise on his neck and Wendy accuses Jack of beating him. Frustrated at the accusation, Torrance goes into the Gold Room of the hotel and shares a drink with a ghostly bartender, Lloyd. Torrance and Wendy argue over taking Danny to the doctor, and he angrily storms back into the Gold Room. There, the ghost of former manager Charles Grady tells Jack he must "correct" his wife and child, and Torrance, gone entirely mad with cabin fever, agrees. Sabotaging the snowmobile and radio, Jack confronts Wendy and tries to kill her before getting knocked out and locked in the cabinet. Grady, despite his doubts, lets Torrance escape to try and kill them again. Torrance grabs a fire axe, and starts to break through the bathroom where Wendy has locked herself in. He manages to break through, but stops when he hears the snowcat of Hallorman. Torrance surprises Hallorman, killing him. Torrance later pursues his son in the hedge maze of the Overlook Hotel, but loses him in the pursuit. Torrance, unable to escape the maze, freezes to death while Wendy and Danny escape on Hallorman's snowcat. Weapon * SIgnature - Fire Axe: '''Jack's murder weapon of choice when he goes berserk is a Fire Axe. It is three foot long and weighs 10lbs with an axe head and a sharp point on the reverse side. * '''Backup - 'Ghostly Assistance：'Jack will be assissted in this battle by the ghost of the Overlook Hotel. While they cannot directly harm Alex they have full control over the hotel and are able to do things like open and close doors as need be. They can also create apperations to try confuse, disorientate or scare Jason such as when the ghost of a woman who died in the hotel attacked Danny Torrance. They can also appear to Jack to give him encouragement or advice should he need it. For the purpose of this battle, the Ghost bartender Loyld wil be present - he assists Jack through encourgement and making slight adjustments to the environment (I.E. locking up doors, unlocking doors, slight movement of furniture). The ghosts of a man in bear costume, a guest without his pants, two dead girls and a banquet guest with his bald head covered with blood will appear as well - they assist Jack through suddenly appearing out of nowhere/making eerie noises/behaving bizarrely to spook Alex. If Alex somehow enters room 237, the lady in the bathtud will appear to him in a her deceiving form as a beautiful young female. Upon walking towards Alex, she'll reveal her true form as a rotted corpse - but she can't directly harm Alex and won't encounter Alex if Alex doesn't the room. X-factors Physicality Alex DeLarge is an energetic youth. He is usually the most active one in a street fight, constantly outmanuvering youths of similar built and showing feats of above-average speed, reflexes and durability.He also possesses amazing strength for his skinny built, judging from the fact that his kick sent Dim (a remarkably larger individual) flying into the river. Jack Torrance is a middle-aged man with little exercise due to his drinking problem and career as a writer. However, after being affected by the Hotel's evil spirits, he demonstrated feats of high pain tolerance,high endurance, durability and above-average strength - he tanked damages from kitchen knife stabs and remained active in the maze for an awful long time before succumbing to the cold. Experience Alex Delarge is a very experienced street brawler, having lead his gang through countless assaults, robberies and gang duels with other gangs.Judging from their pride in themselves and the way they quickly dismantled Billy's gang (a knife-armed gang of German teenagers), it can be assumed that Alex and his friends achieved great success in their activities. However, note that Alex is a total stranger to supernatural oocurances. Jack Torrance was a normal-ass writer before incidents at the hotel, and has virtually no experience of fighting others aside from injuring Danny boy when he's drunk. Intelligence Both warriors are far from genius and rely mostly on impulses & blind rage. Determination & Brutality Alex DeLarge is just a street thug. He steals, he fights, he rapes and he crashes, but he never actively goes for the killing blow. Most of his assaults are intended to hurt others badly, but not to kill others.And his only kill was a result of him being extremely angered by the victim's retaliation and being made anxious by sirens. When things don't go as planned, Alex might flee like other thugs.It's safe to say that Alex won't get his hands dirty unless he is deeply frustrated or angered by the situation. Jack, on the other hand, is actively out there seeking for people to kill and won't stop until he kills them all. Psychological warfare Alex, while obnovious, is pretty straightforward in fighting, trying to make himself imposing through shouting,yelling, dancing, jumping, or singing Singing in the Rain in a twisted way. As for Jack, while he himself isn't very subtle in his approach, the ghosts of hotel overlook will make sure that Jack's victim will be intimidated or at least bewildered by their presence through appearing randomly, example being the blood-covered ghost carrying a glass of wine appearing in front of Wendy and shouting "Great party, isn't it ?" when she ran away from Jack and the bear costume ghost performing oral sex on a ghost guest in front of Danny. Battle Although winter had only been around for a few weeks, snow had already crowned the moutains silver. With the humans gone, the Colorado section of the Rocky regained its tranquility. However, silence could not be applied to all parts of this region, for in the center of a particularly forested area, stood a luxurious hotel. And in this wicked sturcture, existed a room of gold, in which the party was always on. But today, the party was put to a stop, for a mood killer from Uxbridge had stepped into the main hall. Therefore, the residents of this accursed palace dispatched their toughest and most loyal enforcer - Torrance the care-taker, to put an end to this walking madness and resume their own. Back in the hall, Alex Delarge was still in an uncomfortable state of fury and confusion. "Dim, that bastard with no manners and not a dook of an idea how to comport himself public-wise. That filthy backstabber with no guts. Once I get out of this place, I'll find him, and I'll show him a bit of the old ultra-violence. ''" The aggressive teenage thug whispered to himself, as he marched across the room. Just as he reached the corridor, he took notice of some movement on the other end. A quick glance revealed what seemed to be the figures of two little girls dressed in blue skirts appearing out there."''Hello Alex, come and play with us, forever and ever and ever and ever. All of your friends are here as well, Pete, Georgie and Dim, we are having so much fun !" They whispered in a low-pitched voice, before stepping aside and vanishing into the corner. "Wait what did you just say ? Dim is here as well ? Stop right there you shameless little bitches, lead me to that bastard !" He shouted, running towards the spot to pursue the girls. What welcomed him in the left corridor, however, was Jack Torrance swinging his fire axe wildly in an attempt to land a strike on his chest. Being vigorous as usual, Alex quickly dodged aside the moment the axe plunged forward, leaving it hacked into the wall. "Who are you ''? " He shouted in surprise, as he raised up his cane and retaliated by delivering quick hit on Jack's shoulder. Unfazed by the attack, Jack shrugged off the pain and reached for the axe, quickly pulling it out with brute force. Grunting in rage, he set his eyes on the tre-passer, staring at him menacingly. Slightly amused and not at all scared, Alex reacted to the furious grunt with a wicked grin. "O you gloopy bratchny !" He shouted, as Jack delivered a second swing. This time more prepared, Alex swifly backed off, and the axe once again only cut through layers of air. Before Torrance could make a third attempt, Alex struck back, smashing the head of the cane heavily onto Torrance's forehead. A kick to the care-taker's crotch soon followed, instantly knocking the failed writer off balance. Shaken by the pain, Jack was too focused on regaining his balance to notice Alex grabbing up a decorative vase placed on the shelf nearby, and when Jack indeed took notice of it, it was too late - the vase was thrown towards him at high speed, crashing right onto his head. The broken china pieces tear open the old scar left by Wendy's baseball bat, and Torrance collapsed down, dropping the axe. "Naughty, naughty, naughty !" Alex chuckled wildly, as he picked up the axe and tossed it out of the window. Applying two additional bounces towards Torrance's head, he kicked the groaning care-taker aside and decided to continue his exploration. For a second, the thought of slashing the man's throat to make sure he was down popped up in Alex mind,but he soon canceled out that option. The cat lady's death had already added his name to the list of murderers at large, and under no circumstances could he do something that would double the charge. Walking down the seemingly empty corridor, Alex soon caught up a feeling of being watched. Something was defnitely not right with this place, but he could not tell what. Nevertheless, he had little time to calm down and sort it out, for according to his previous encounter with the girls, his mortal enemy had already been here, and thus tracking down that treacherous garbage and beating him to pulp should be his priority. Just as he strode past the notorious Room 237, his frantic search for Dim was paused by a voice from the back. ''"Great party, isn't it ?" '' Startled, he turned back to find the apparition of Horace Derwent standing firmly, with bald head covered with blood stains, and tuxedo dotted with molded confetti. ''"I hear that you too are a man of violence. What a pity ! " '' The former owner of the Overlook laughed, lifting up his glass as if he was cheering for Alex, before the flesh of his face suddenly rotted away, revealing the skeletal remains inside. Hardly had Alex let out a scream when the door on his right burst open, revealing the bear man and his guest. Facing Alex, the bear man widened his mouth to form a joyful expression, but the voice that came out was utterly inhumane. The door on the left soon took part in the trend, revealing a pantless man's corpse inside. Totally crept out, Alex immetiately turned to the entrance, only to find it blocked by the twin girls. ''"Come and play with us, Alex. Together '' ''we can have so much fun." They repeated, as their appearances shifted back and forth from human-like to corpses rapidly. "O bloody, bloody hell !" ''He went, quickly opening another door neaby, a quick scan indicated nothing out of ordinary. Relieved, Alex immediately slammed the door shut and rotated the knob to lock it up before the herd of ghosts could cluster around him. ................ ''"Mr. Torrance ? Mr. Torrance ?" '' ''"Grady ?" '' Hearing the familiar voice of his predessessor, Torrance woke up from the temporary coma caused by the cane. ''"Ah, glad to have you back, Mr. Torrance. Looking for something ?" ''Said Delbert Grady, as he watched Jack groping for his lost axe. "''I'm sure this is what you want." Handing him the axe, Grady smiled politely, and Torrance smiled back. "You've always been a helpful friend, Grady. And I greatly appreciate it." "You don't need to appreciate me, Mr. Torrance. It is a friend's duty to help out when you are in need. Now that you have got your stuff, Mr. Torrance, I think it's time for you to deal with this matter in the harshest possible way." "With great pleasure, as always. " ................. Only god knew how many minutes had elapsed before Jack, under the guidance of his ghostly allies, locate the room Alex had been hiding in. In fact, it shouldn't have been that long, for Alex had unluckily locked himself inside the worst room among all rooms, and at this very moment, he had been forced to the edge of the room, with his back leaning against the locked door and the zombie lady from the tub slowly shambling towards him, with water and grease dripping down from its rotten skin. "Stop it, stop it, please ! I beg you, this is - !" ''The teenage brawler shouted helplessly, and just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, Jack Torrance had made his move, hacking his axe onto the door, creating a hole. "''Here's Johnny !" ''He roared, smashing the door open and marching inside. Feebly swinging his cane for defense, the improvised tool broke up as its mid-section collided with the bladed edge, revealing the so-called sword inside, whose size seemed rather pathetic in comparison with the fire axe. The bath tub lady disappeared at the exact same moment, making room for Jack to accomplish his mission. The trail of stinking water she left remained on the floor, however, and caused Alex to slip during he retreat. Normally, the man of ultra-violence would quickly regain balance, but this time, fear had gotten a hold of his heart, and his reflexes had gone out of control, resulting in him landing head-on. Noticing his opponent slipping and the sword being dropped aside, Jack Torrance readied himself for a final strike. But the terrorizer of London streets had a last resort. Drawing out the switch blade from his pocket, Alex unfolded the blade and viciously stabbed it deep into Jack's ankle. Just before he could pull it out for a second stab, Jack, who had endured worse, kicked Alex with his bleeding leg, sending the teen tumbling backwards, resulting in the axe landing right onto his crotch armor, completely destroying its crust and the things it protected inside. "''O my yarbles, my poor yarbles !" Alex screamed, as his senses got overloaded with excruciating pain. Tears welled out of his eyes, but tears wouldn't save him from his impending doom, as the axe swung down once again, this time hacking right through his head. .................... "''I see, Mr. Torrance. You have helped the hotel cleaned up yet another pest. " '' ''"Thanks for the compliment, Loyld. Anyway that is my job. " '' ''"So what will you be drinking tonight, sir ?" '' ''"Hair of the dog that bit me." '' Taking a sip at his favorite drink, Torrance continued to enjoy the neverending party. The bleeding on his leg had stopped, and the pain on his forehead had been eased by the booze. Outside, midnight had come, and the stars shined with him. Expert's opinions While some experts supported Alex due to his experience as a street brawler, most experts voted for Jack, mostly because of the fact that not only is he blessed with a more lethal weapn and supernatural assistance, but also he is simply the more competent killer when compared to Alex, a thug that mainly beat up people instead of going for the kill. Category:Blog posts